Somewhere Only We Know
by DarkAngelsShadow
Summary: Merle kissed her roughly as though he was starved for only her. As though he had been held in chains away from her and he had finally broken free of the chains that been holding him back. It was the kind of kiss that only happened in fantasies. Yes this is a Merle and Carol story...


******_I do not own or make any kind of money or profit from the walking dead or its characters._**

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**"Somewhere Only We Know"**

Carol was walking across a carpeted forest floor. Leaves once full of life where now brittle and melding with the earth beneath her feet. Over grown grass and flowers, their scent surrounded her filling her head with their familiar comforting perfumes. She knew this pathway like the back of her hand. Barefooted she felt the earth beneath her feet. The cold damp earth shifted underneath her feet and squished between her toes as she moved forward.

Carol came across a fallen tree and felt the branches of it looking up at her, beckoning her closer. The branches waving in the cool breeze that surrounded her body as she moved closer Carol's body led her half way in to the rushing waters. Only now did she smell the cool crisp in the air alerting her to the watery depths before her. "Is this the place? Is this the place that I've been dreaming of? I can normally push you right out of my heart but I'm too tired to fight it."

Her memory while standing in that cool rushing water was enveloped by dreams. Dreams that grabbed a hold of her conscious and pulled her safely into their arms wrapping a blanket of warmth about her calming her mind as the rivers current rushed past her nearly tipping her over.. Moving slowly but with purpose Carol made her way up to the fallen log. With the water half way up her calf she lifted one leg out of the water to straddle it. Sitting with the water lapping at her feet with the scents of the forest surrounding her, Carol was reminded of him. And in that moment, it made her feel complete. A completeness she hadn't felt in such a long time that it reached out with bone chilled hands, fingers reaching deeply down to the morrow of her bones. It was such a simple thing that it left her wondering, "Where had it gone?" When it left her on the breeze of the wind, it left Carol feeling empty once again so quickly it had come and so swiftly it had left her behind. She hung her head, the weight of it felt heavy upon her shoulders like a burden. A task she had completed a number of times and yet still could not reach accomplishment.

"I'm getting old and I need something to rely on. So tell me when you're gonna let me in. I'm getting tired and I need somewhere to begin again." Carol raised her head looking back out over the water she braced her hands on either side of the log as she turned to look at the length of the river. Her eyes were exploring while her imagination was coming to life as she pictured Sophia playing at the water's edge along with nameless children. Before her eyes Judith and Carl appeared at the river's edge and the three of them had joined in to a game of tag.

Have you ever noticed that while locked away in your mind that anything and anyone can creep up behind you? How the brush of a familiar presence can settle around you while your mind is still of in the distance? Carol sat there her eyes shining with tears as she watched the children she had come to love as her own played in front of her. Lost in the spring time air that surrounded her in its warmth as the chill of winter was sweeping away from the land. Her mind was in fractures. There was neither a here or a then and there just a now. She sat there on that fallen log thinking yet not thinking. Allowing her inner thoughts to wonder and form the untold wishes of her dreams.

Though all of this wonderment was buzzing around in her head she could still feel his presence behind her. Surrounding her, creeping up closer to as the hair on the back of her neck stood at attention, Carol's heart began to pick up speed. The children melted away as reality made it to the surface of her mind, she reached out with her arms as though she could beckon the children back to her, safely with in her grasp where she would allow no harm to come to them and she would feel wanted, needed once more.

Carol had been a banded by the group she called family. It left an ache in her chest even now a year after it had happened. Carol unknowingly raised her hand to rub at the phantom ache as she once again turned her body around on the log being carful as to not fall into the water. Now facing the opposite direction of the river look directly behind her back into the forest she had come from Carol's eyes wondered from one tree to the next. Rather she was imagining things or not he was there silently hiding in the trees surrounding her.

Turning back around her hand still resting over her heart Carol stared once more across the rushing river. She couldn't deny the beauty of the wild waters. Carol's head lifted and her eyes met with the clear blue sky above her. She watched as the sky above her changed colors and bringing her head back down to the earth she watched as the setting suns colors dance upon the water's surface. The melding of two wild elements reminded her of a dance between lovers. A moment in time that could only be granted as the sun sank into the far distance water. As the sun made it's decent into the earth Carol got lost in time not caring about how quickly time was sweeping up around her and how silently and quickly it moved. She noticed her lack of wanting.

Carol wanted not for drink not for food or rest. She had no want of anything that made her human. Carol began to wonder what had happened to her. Why was it that the calm of the forest that surrounded her brought only peace to her soul as her mind wondered back to the place she had once called home, the prison. Her thoughts would often wonder back this way while she had been out on her own. _How long again have I been out here on my own_? Her mind would whisper.

An image of the prison appeared in her mind's eye and Carol felt the crippling hands of longing pull at her chest. How she missed the comforts it had once brought to her. But this time Carol was brought back to a conversation that had happened between her and in silence between two brothers. Though at the time she hadn't been aware that her silent protector had been there and that he had heard the shared words a conversation she had thought was between just her and Merle. She could still remember that conversation with Merle as she sat there the rivers water pulling at her feet tugging at them making them numb to the point that she could no longer feel them. She could still feel those blue eyes burning upon her though, the presence had moved closer and it sent a shiver over her being as she recalled the way Daryl's eyes used to dance over her person. The way Daryl would stare anyone down with a death glare and yet his eyes where always there, always upon her, so open and yet so guarded when they landed on her when he would walk into a room she would be in. How for such a short time Merle's eyes had felt the same way when she would find his eyes settle over her. But the rich color of his eyes would always soften and deepen when they would meet hers. "The whole thing begins again and I let you sink into my veins, and I feel the pain is new with every memory my heart thinks of you."

Carol had been so absorbed by the world around her that she hadn't noticed the brush of that familiar presence moving closer to her. A presence that had moved closer, so close that he was even now moving to straddle the log in which she sat upon. The aura of a predator surrounded her being engulfing her. Shivering she rubbed at her arms even as the suns warmth beamed down on her.

Carol felt the water shift about her as the scents in the air melded with the new scent of pine trees and a musk that spoke heavily of a male's presence. Sitting up straight she allowed her eye lids to drift shut as she took in a deep breath filling her lungs with the air that was building forth with such energy that even the nearby crickets had begun to sing its song.

"So tell me when are ya gonna let me in?" The words were spoken so softly against her ear that she wasn't sure if they were a whispered memory upon her mind until a flash of familiar blue was tugging at her memory. Carol gasped as she allowed the familiar heat behind her to absorb into her chilled bones. Leaning back Carol new she must be dreaming there was no possible way for the man behind her to be real and yet as his arms wrapped around her waist pulling her backwards deeper into his warmth she could feel the touch of his breath upon her neck and it made her shiver. Shiver with a want that was beyond bone deep that she could feel it all the way down past her toes up through her veins to melt deep within her soul. Her eyes drifted closed as a smile lifted her lips. Her heart rate picked up its pace filled with longing so much longing found its way to the surface of her skin as his hands wondered the length of her arms warming her. His touch was erasing her doubts and her pain. Chasing away the longing she had felt but had never known how deep it had been until this man's touch was upon her.

His lips where on her exposed shoulder blade, the length of his nose trailing up the length of her neck sending a delicious shiver to journey from that shoulder down to the pit of her stomach. Carol could feel the soft puffs of air as he was taking in her scent and it made the heat quickly building deep inside of her center burn hotter as he let a moan of wanting slip past his lips. Opening her eyes Carol found the sky above her. Where it had once been filled with the colors of a sunset it was now covered in a blanket of stars and clouds. Clouds so heavily burdened that she could see and feel the soft drizzle of rain falling upon them. Hearing the distant promise of a storm moving in Carol smiled turning her head her eyes meeting with the blue depths of the man that sat now beside her as she moved her body to straddle him there on the log.

There was no need for spoken words, she could see every unspoken truth there in the depth of his eyes and it made her body burn in want. Leaning forward her hands grasped for the hair on his head as she brought her lips up to meet his in a searing kiss. All she could here was the sound of the rushing river or maybe it was just the sound of her blood rushing through her veins singing joyously at being reunited at last with this man.

"You're here." The words left her lips as he pulled away and in one motion helped her remove her shirt and pulled her closer all in the same breath. Lying back along the length of the log underneath of them Carol locked eyes with the man who her spirit had been weeping for. The blue eyed man removed his shirt and shifted closer to her allowing her to wrap her long legs around his hips as he moved forward still sitting on the log. Leaning forward he trailed kisses starting at her hips up the length of her body as her hands delve into his hair, "Where else would I be woman?" The words ghosted over her skin as he peppered her stomach with light butterfly kisses. With the use of both of his hands he sat up and pulled her center into the length of him moaning as the heat of her center brushed against him.

Hands traveling up the length of her legs sent a thrill to her core and Carol moaned as he found her to be lacking of any and all undergarments. "Naughty little thing aint'cha sugar." He asked as his fingers found her wanting heat and began to work her up into a frenzy by teasingly adding one finger and then another as his name came floating off of her lips.

"Waited to damn long for ya woman, to fucking long. Had to wait a life time for ya to come and join me." Hearing her breathy moans he added another finger and no sooner than adding that third digit did he feel her walls clench at him. Allowing her to ride out her bliss he undid his pants one handed and lifted up just enough to allow himself to spring from the entrapment of his boxers and pants. Leaning forward he captured her lips in a searing kiss as he pulled her up and onto him. Pulling her body closer and running his hands up and down the length of her exposed skin. Helping Carol gain her balance by trailing his hands up her bare legs and lifting the layers of material from her skirt up and out of the way he positioned his hardness as she sank down onto him.

Neither one of them noticed the rain as the storm moved closer pounding the earth and causing the rivers water to rise. How the calm of the forest animals had left a hushed quite to fall over the surrounding land.

The sight before her stole her breath away. The look in this man's eyes burned her from the inside out. Resting her hands on his wide built shoulders Carol started the ancient dance of two bodies being made one. Feeling the muscles twitch under her fingers gave her the encouragement she needed to rotate her hips in such a way that it robbed a moan to spill forth from her throat so needy that she couldn't even recognize her own voice as it spilled forth from her wet parted lips.

Eyes burning like molten lava as he took her in, the sight before him Carol riding him made his breath catch with in his chest as he watched his souls mate move upon him. She looked like a nymph that belonged with in the forest. A crown of leaves and sticks where caught up with in her hair and the light of the moon captured her beauty in such a way that it made it seem as though the rain pounding down around them passed her by. Moving forward his lips claimed every inch of her shoulder as he began to once again work her up into a frenzy as she danced upon his lap. Head fallen back he trailed wet open mouth kisses up her neck to her ear where he nipped at the small lobe pulling it into his mouth and sucking upon it until she called out his name in her second release. "Merle."

Hearing his name fall from her lips caused a jolt of electricity to travel from the tip of his head down to his toes. Though he had come to her in another form a younger version of himself, she was still able to recognize him and that sent such a thrill through him. Hearing his name escape her lips had his hips working harder to bring his woman to that third release.

Bringing his head up Merle found her eyes to be locked on his. Love understanding and devotion was shining there and her name left his lips as he felt her walls starting to vibrate around him. "Say it again woman, gonna make ya scream my name."

"Merle." His name left her lips once more as he changed their positions by hiking her right leg up higher onto his arm. Merle could feel their hearts joining in the same beat as he pulled her chest flesh up against his holding her closer in this position they were truly one.

Merle kissed her roughly as though he was starved for only her. As though he had been held in chains away from her and he had finally broken free of the chains that been holding him back. It was the kind of kiss that only happened in fantasies. Fantasies where only he could make her feel complete, where only his spirit could consume hers, heart body and soul. Where Carol felt wanted beyond wanting and loved so consumed that she no longer knew where she started and Merle ended. They were one as the sky cracked with energy around them.

"Carol." Her name came out in a brutal growl as her walls tightened upon him and everything around him became drowned out as his body gave in and joined her. Baring his face in between the hollowed out area of her shoulder and neck Merle peppered the area with kisses before biting into her skin in order to mark her claim her finally as his.

Hearing her name come off of his lips as his teeth slide into her shoulder sent such a heat through her body that Carol was swept away once more into the heavens as her head lowered to his shoulder in order to repay the claiming he had made upon her. She left a mark of her own. Resting her head along his shoulder Carol's mind started to take in the world around them. Before she knew it her thoughts where already whispering the answers to her. Here she was in the arms of a man she hardly even knew and yet she knew him as though he was an extension to her own body. A man she knew for a fact had only one hand and had already passed on from the living world. Looking into his eyes with her palms flattened across his chest she gave him a watery smile. "I'm dead aren't I?" Lifting her head up, he could see her chin wobbling slightly, "Yeah sweetheart you didn't make it." His voice was rough and his hands came up to cradle her face as his eyes delve into hers. A streak of lightning danced across the sky and it made her jump as a watery smile graced her face. Carol's hands came up to join his. Tears filled her eyes, "I figured as much when I found myself here wondering without any sight of walkers. I'm glad you're here."

"Who else would be better to fucken meet ya as you crossed over? No one girly but your souls oth'r half, been waiten here for ya. I've ne'er been too far, always been near."

"I know Merle, I could always feel you." Carol's hands left his joined hands on her face to snake down around his waist as she pulled herself closer into his warmth.

"Damn straight you could woman, I choice to love ya in silence while I was alive, because in silence there were no rejections, and in silence, no one owns you but me." Merle pulled her closer as the sky above them rumbled and the ground underneath of them shook. Merle moved back did up his pants and climbed to his feet lifting Carol up into his arms. Merle walked with her cradled to his chest over to a nearby tree where they settled down beneath its branches laying in the warmth of each other's arms, where their eyes closed in slumber until they were once again awoken.

A few years past as time often does and Daryl an older man out on his own came upon the same area seeking peace. He had been searching for years for the woman that had meant the world to him. Never finding her but always feeling her kept his body moving forward when he would rather lie down and sleep a sleep so deeply not even the light of day could awaken him.

The tree they had fallen asleep under in that storm a few years back was standing strong and tall in front of him now. Daryl was out on his own wondering the land looking for the ones who could make him whole. He had caught sight of a Cherokee rose bush like none other he had have ever seen. For this one called out to him. His name was being whispered upon the wind and as he moved to rest against the rough bark of the tree Daryl could see the thorns of the rose bush that grew intertwined with the Cherokee roses. Daryl knew deep down in his gut, in his soul that he had finally found what it was that he sought after all of these years. The whispers on the wind had led him here to this spot. The soul of his brother, his other half rested here. With that of their mate the woman he longed for. Closing his eyes he allowed the years to slip away as he drifted off into the dream world. Daryl's spirit left his body and as he stepped forward he saw his brother and Carol standing there beside the river waiting for him with smiles on their faces beckoning him to come closer. As he moved to join hands with his brother a bright light surrounded them and they became one. No longer where they one spirit torn apart to be housed in two separate bodies now they were one spirit, one being and as one they took Carol's hand and pulled her in close to them. And together they crossed the river to the other side where they were reunited with their loved ones.


End file.
